


Lucky in Love

by CharacteristicallyMinor



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 07:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5997724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharacteristicallyMinor/pseuds/CharacteristicallyMinor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sam decides not go back to working at the White House, his and Will's fledgling relationship has to go through some necessary changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

The night of the election, Will watched the TV as Sam lost. He knew that Sam was going to lose. Everybody knew that Sam was going to lose, Sam included. Nothing Toby had done in the past week could change that. 

Will called Sam as soon as he saw the results. Sam didn't pick up, but Will hadn't expected him to. He knew that Sam was going to be fielding calls for a while; he just wanted Sam to know that he was thinking of him.

Sam called him forty five minutes later. 

"How are you doing?" Will asked.

"I'm relieved I lost," Sam admitted to Will, sounding hesitant. 

"I- I'm sorry?" Will asked. "I think I misheard that."

"No, you didn't. I'm relieved that I lost. After the first few weeks, I realized that I honestly had no desire to win," Sam said. "I know, I'm supposed to want to become a Congressman. But I really don't. I thought that would be just the thing to make me happy and driven again, but running for Congress just made me feel even worse than I already felt."

"I didn't realize that you were feeling bad before," Will commented, concerned. 

"I've just been so tired. I'm sick of campaigns and elections and politics. It's been coming for a while, but I think I've hit my breaking point," Sam confessed.

"So what are you going to do?" Will asked, careful to keep his voice light.

"I think I'm going to quit. I know I'm supposed to come back to my old job now that I've lost the election, but I just can't bear the thought of it. It's not just a whim; this has been building for months," Sam explained. "I don't think I can handle being in DC, even. I'm sorry, but I think I want to live in California for a while, until I figure things out."

"Okay," Will said. "If that's what you need to do, then you should do it."

"That's it?" Sam asked. "You're not going to insist that I'm just having a bad day and I shouldn't be hasty?"

"If you want me to, I can, but I don't think you are. You sound certain, and I'm not going to argue with you. If you think you need to quit, then you should take care of yourself and quit," Will reasoned. "Your well-being comes first."

"I think I really needed to hear that," Sam said. "I've been gearing up for everyone's negative reactions."

"I think that some of them will be negative at first, but they won't blame you if you explain how unhappy you are," Will said, hoping he was saying the right things. "Which, I have to ask- are you depressed? You haven't actually used the word, but it sounds like you're saying you are."

"Yeah," Sam said. "I'm not suicidal or anything, but I recognized the blankness, pessimism, and generally lowered baseline mood a few months ago. I didn't want to admit to myself that this is exactly what I was feeling the last time I was really depressed. I've stopped ignoring it now, though. I'm going to start taking care of myself. I'm going to find a therapist this week."

"Good," Will said. "I'm glad that you're taking care of yourself." 

"Thank you so much," Sam said, sounding relieved.

"It's nothing, really," Will replied.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow?" Sam asked.

"I'm looking forward to it," Will confirmed.

Once the phone call ended, Will resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. Will felt guilty for not realizing that Sam was so unhappy. He knew that he'd only been able to see Sam face to face a few times, but they'd spent enough time on the phone that he should have noticed. 

Still, beating himself up about it wasn't going to help Sam. Will mentally prepared himself for the next day.

* * *

The next day, Will called Sam back when he had a few minutes free before a meeting. 

"How are you doing?" Will asked Sam.

"I'm managing. The fact that I don't have a mile-long to-do list any more makes everything easier, but I still have to quit. I'm kind of freaked out about that," Sam admitted.

"I don't blame you. It's a big step. But I think everyone will understand, although they'll probably be hurt initially," Will said. "Your health is important, though, to all of us."

"I know that intellectually. I just feel guilty, like I'm betraying you guys. And I think that actually quitting, even though I've already made the decision to do so, feels like a scarily big step," Sam said. 

"That makes sense. You aren't betraying us, though. You have no obligation to continue working at a job that is negatively impacting your health and quality of life. You deserve to be happy. And as for it being a big step- well, it is. This job has been your whole life for four years- more than that, if you count the first campaign- and so this means an end to a stage in your life. That's not a bad thing, though. Staying the same isn't the same thing as being happy," Will said.

"Thanks for helping me put it in perspective. Sorry for freaking out," Sam said.

"You've done nothing that you need to apologize for. I'm glad I could help," Will said. He was a bit surprised that he hadn't managed to say something completely wrong or awkward, but something about talking to Sam seemed to reduce his awkwardness.

"I think I'm going to quit now and get it over with," Sam decided. 

"Good luck. If you want to call me after, you can," Will said. "I don't have any meetings for a while."

About twenty minutes after their phone call ended, Will heard Toby yelling on the phone through the wall dividing their offices. Will caught the word "quitting," and knew that it was Sam calling Toby. Will wished that he could do something to support Sam; he knew how much Toby's opinion mattered to Sam. But Sam was on the other side of the country, and Toby would never listen to Will on this matter. He'd just point out that he'd only seen Sam a couple of times in person, and had only known Sam for a few months. Both of which were true.

Will couldn't tell Toby about the phone calls he and Sam had traded daily- first just sharing information and advice, since they'd basically traded jobs, but later just for the sake of getting to talk to each other. He couldn't tell Toby about Sam's confession that he had developed feelings for Will, or how Will's heart had soared upon hearing Sam's words because he felt the same way about Sam. He definitely couldn't tell Toby about how they'd agreed to start dating once Sam's campaign was done. They hadn't wanted to start their relationship off long-distance. And since Sam had almost no chance of winning anyways, that wasn't a concern, although Sam wasn't sure what he wanted to do about coming out. 

Will had been out as bisexual for years- he'd never tried to hide it, and he'd even mentioned it to Leo when he'd been hired. Leo had been surprised, but it hadn't been an issue. Will knew that if his sexuality for some reason became a news story, any disapproval from more conservative voters would be canceled out by the increased support from liberals who had been concerned that Bartlet was too conservative on gay issues. CJ had said much the same thing, when Will had taken Leo's advice and warned her that this was a potential news story. 

But Will knew that Sam had wanted to hold an office some day, and that getting elected would be harder if he was out. The same thing was true for Will, of course, but he knew that he didn't want to be elected if it meant constantly hiding this facet of his identity.

Of course, all that was a moot point, now that Sam was quitting. Will didn't even know what was going to happen to their relationship. He knew that long distance relationships could work- he'd managed a successful one throughout college- but they had a lot of potential for failure. Will had no plans to leave DC, and coming back to DC, even if he didn't come back to work, would be the opposite of what Sam needed. Will wasn't sure if that was ever going to change. Being permanently on the other side of the country didn't seem like the makings of a strong relationship, but Will also didn't want to just cast aside the possibility of dating Sam. Sam was brilliant, funny, attractive, and they had great chemistry. Not to mention, Sam was the first person he'd been interested in in a while who actually understood the craziness that was working in politics. Too many of Will's relationships in the past had ended because of the long hours he worked and his narrow focus on what he did. Not that he'd had time for that many relationships, anyways- even though he hadn't worked in DC before, he had a tendency to take on so many speech-writing jobs at a time that he was completely swamped with work. 

Toby's yelling died down, although Will could tell that he was still angry at Sam. Will wondered whether Sam had called Josh and CJ yet. He wasn't sure what order Sam would call them in. Will figured that Sam had probably asked Toby not to tell Josh and CJ until Sam had talked to them, though, or else Toby would probably have gone off to rant about Sam to one of them. 

A few minutes later, Toby came into Will's office. He wasn't yelling anymore, but Will was pretty sure that Toby's anger was just simmering under the surface. 

"So, Sam just called. He's decided not to come back to work," Toby said, even-toned but furious.

"I know. He called me earlier," Will replied, hoping to diffuse the situation.

"He called you earlier?" Toby asked incredulously. "He said that he still hadn't talked to Josh or CJ yet, but he called you?"

Will winced internally. He'd already managed to make the situation worse. "He said it was because he wanted to give me a heads up, since I'm the one with his job. But I think it might have been because he wanted to practice on me, since I'm the only one he's telling who hasn't been working with him for years. He sounded pretty nervous about the prospect of telling everyone," Will explained, hoping this was what Sam would want him to be saying.

Toby didn't seem convinced, but he didn't argue with Will, choosing instead to continue his rant. "Well, that's great. I know that he's upset about losing the election, but I can't believe he's quitting. He's been working here for four years, and suddenly one political loss means he's giving up working in politics entirely?"

"I don't think it's because he lost the election," Will said. "He told me that he'd been unhappy for a while now."

"Well, of course he was. Campaigning for a lost cause isn't really conducive to being happy, you know. But he was happy here before, with us," Toby said, although a note of doubt crept into his voice.

"It sounded like he was depressed," Will said. "I don't think it's anything to do with you guys."

"I just wish he'd decided to get therapy or tell someone he was having issues before deciding to radically overturn his life," Toby said. "I'm not blaming him for being depressed. But going from pretending he's completely fine to quitting his job because it's gotten so bad? And I thought Josh was supposed to be the self-destructive one."

"I agree. It would have been nice if he'd gotten help sooner, or at least told someone he was having trouble," Will said honestly. He wished that Sam had turned to him and told him he'd been having issues earlier. Or, if not him, then Toby or Josh or somebody. 

CJ came to Will's office a few minutes later. Well, Will was pretty sure that she'd meant to go to Toby's office, but Toby was still in Will's office, alternating between feeling betrayed and trying not to blame Sam. Will was kind of glad to see her; at least then he wouldn't be the only one having to figure out what to say to Toby. Although he imagined that instead, he might well be having to deal with what to say to both of them.

"Sam said he'd told you already?" CJ asked. She looked mostly fine, but Will knew that it was her job to keep her emotions in check when dealing with all sorts of news. Will hadn't been at the White House long enough to be able to recognize the cracks in her facade, if there even were any. 

"Yeah," Toby said. "He told us."

"I can't believe it," CJ said. "I knew that Sam's been stressed out lately, but I thought he'd bounce back. He's done it before."

"I still think he might," Toby said. "I know he's depressed, but that can be managed with therapy. It doesn't mean he has to completely quit his job." 

"I don't know," CJ said. "He sounded pretty resolute. I can't believe he was struggling and never told us."

"I don't know," Toby said. "He usually doesn't tell us when he's upset; we can just tell because he's terrible at hiding his emotions. If he hadn't been off in California, we would have noticed he was having trouble early enough that he could have gotten help without things having to go so far."

"What do you think, Will?" CJ asked. "I notice you've been awfully quiet. I know you haven't talked to Sam himself, but from what Toby and I have told you of the situation, what do you think?"

"Actually, I have talked to Sam," Will said. CJ seemed surprised, although she quickly covered it up. "He wanted to make sure I was comfortable taking over for him. Well, and he didn't actually say this, but I think he probably wanted to practice saying he was quitting to someone who hadn't been working with him for years."

"That makes sense, I guess," CJ said, although she still looked slightly suspicious. Will hoped CJ couldn't tell that he was lying, or at least that she wouldn't pursue her suspicions.

"If I understand the timing right, I met him after he'd already become depressed, and I've only met him in person a couple of times. So I don't think I would have noticed anything," Will said. "When I talked to him, though, he did seem pretty serious about needing to quit. So I don't think its a whim."

"That's the impression I got. He actually sounded pretty upset and apologetic. I think he feels like he's betraying us, even though it's not his fault that he's depressed. Nobody's going to blame him for that," CJ said. She narrowed her eyes at Toby, as though daring him to object.

Suddenly, Josh came rushing into Will's office. "Can you believe that Sam's quitting?"

"It was a surprise for all of us," Will said.

Josh looked confusedly at Will for a second, as though wondering why he was talking at a meeting that was taking place in Will's own office, before apparently deciding to let go of it and move on to other things. 

"He seemed just fine," Josh said. Will felt as though he was stuck in some sort of terrible loop.

"I think he probably wanted to sound fine," CJ said thoughtfully. "He wouldn't have wanted us to worry about him. And any time he sounded a bit off, we probably just chalked that up to the fact that he was in a losing campaign, and that's enough to make anyone sound a bit unhappy."

"We should never have pressured him to go through with the campaign. We should have let him call Will to call it off right after he found out that Wilde had won," Josh said, looking upset.

"It's not our fault," Toby said. "Sam's a grown man, he could have refused to campaign if that was going to push him over the edge."

"I don't think that the campaign made him depressed," Will interjected. "He said that he'd been depressed before that, and at first he'd thought that the campaign would be just what he needed to get him out of it. Not that that worked."

"He told you that?" Josh asked, incredulous. "He's only met you a couple of times."

"Well, I told him that I felt guilty that I'd encouraged him to run, so he'd explained that it wasn't the campaign's fault," Will lied. He felt guilty for lying to these people who'd be his coworkers for the foreseeable future, and who were so close to Sam, but he knew that this wasn't the time to tell them about his relationship with Sam. Even if Sam had been out to them and telling them wouldn't have been a betrayal of his trust, it still wouldn't have been the time.

After that conversation, the whole day was a long string of conversations about Sam. First he had to talk about it in a senior staff meeting, then he had to deal with anyone he passed talking about it. He was almost glad that almost everyone in the Communications department had quit, since it meant that he didn't have to deal with the gossip there. All of the new hires had never met Sam. 

And of course, Josh, Toby, and CJ rehashed Sam's departure over and over again, although Will was rarely included in these conversations. 

It was a relief to finally drive home for the day. Once he got in his car and started on the way home, he called Sam. Sam hadn't called him at all since Sam had told everyone he was quitting. Will wasn't sure whether Sam wasn't in the mood to talk on the phone any more after so many stressful conversations, was too upset to want to talk, or Sam just hadn't wanted to interrupt Will at work. Will wasn't even sure if calling Sam was the right thing to do, but he figured that Sam could always not answer if he wasn't in the mood to talk.

That wasn't the case, though, as Sam picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Will asked.

"I'm glad that it's over," Sam said. "Their reactions were mixed, but none of them were too horrible. I think they'll forgive me eventually. How were things on your end?"

"There's nothing to forgive you for. But at the moment, I think Toby's feeling a bit betrayed and Josh's feeling guilty. CJ's dealing with it the best of the three; she seems surprised more than anything. I think her surprise is because she's a very perceptive person, but she thought you were just stressed because you were losing the election," Will said, hoping his explanation would be helpful without making Sam feel any more guilty than he already felt. 

"That's about what I expected. Thanks for letting me know. Speaking of which, though, how are you doing? You've been taking it really well, but I know it's a surprise," Sam said.

"I'm glad you're taking yourself. I could never blame you for doing that," Will said. "Oh, by the way- I told them that you'd called me first because I was going to be taking over your job, but that I suspected you were actually calling me first so you could practice on someone who hadn't been working with you for years. Also, I said that you told me you'd been depressed prior to the campaign as a response to me saying I felt guilty that I'd encouraged you to run."

"Sounds perfect, thanks. I'm really sorry that you had to lie for me." Sam apologized. "I was wondering- I know that we were planning on dating when I got back to DC, but now what do we do?"

"I don't know," Will sighed. "I don't know if maintaining long-term long distance relationship while working at the White House would even be doable, and I don't know how you feel about being long-distance, but I don't- I've really enjoyed getting to know you, and I really think we have something," Will fumbled over his words, trying to convey what he meant without sounding too invested in a relationship that probably was never going to happen.

"Thank god, those are the same things I keep thinking about," Sam said. "I'm glad you feel the same way that I do. Although that leaves us at the same place that we started at."

"I understand if starting a new long distance relationship would just make you even more stressed out or depressed," Will said. "I won't blame you if you don't want to."

"The problem is that I actually really, really, do want to," Sam admitted.

"Yeah, me too," Will replied, relieved.

"I've never been in a long distance relationship before, really. I mean, I was going to be in one with Lisa, but we ended up breaking off the engagement before we actually became long distance. That wasn't due to the impending separation, though; that was due to general problems, although the fact that she was unhappy that I was suddenly uprooting my life and quitting a job I'd been working at for years definitely didn't help," Sam got quiet suddenly, once he realized the parallels between that situation and his current one.

"Well, that's not an issue here, at least," Will said firmly, hoping that Sam wouldn't start worrying about this. He didn't know much about Lisa, but he knew that their potential relationship wouldn't have the same issues as Sam's relationship with Lisa had. "I've only been in a long-distance relationship once, and that was complicated."

"Complicated how?" Sam asked. "Not to be nosy, if you don't want to dredge up bad memories of exes."

"No, it's fine," Will said, hoping it actually would be. He was less worried about bad memories than he was about Sam's reaction to the details. 

He continued, "I was dating this girl in high school, Natalie. And we'd been dating since the end of junior year, so we didn't want to break up even though we were going to be on opposite sides of the country. But we were wanted to be able to experience college life to the fullest, and to our minds that meant dating. So we agreed that we'd be in a poly relationship- we'd still be dating, although we could also date other people. It actually worked out pretty well. I mean, it did make dating other people more complicated, since not everyone was okay with the fact that we were poly. But she was at a fairly liberal college, and I tended to stick to dating within queer groups, who were more accepting of that kind of thing. And actually, Natalie and I were together for years."

"So what happened?" Sam asked. He didn't sound disgusted at Will's history, at least. Will knew that a lot of people had issues with polyamory.

"She died. Car accident. She'd just turned twenty four," Will stated. He'd gotten to the point where he could talk about Natalie again, but he still felt a pang when he thought about her.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sam said.

"So yeah, that was a bit different from our situation," Will rushed to say. "You don't have to worry, though- I'm perfectly fine being in a monogamous relationship. I know that there are some bad stereotypes about poly people being cheaters, but those aren't true. And I've been in monogamous relationships before."

Sam was quiet. After a few moments, Will became concerned that his worries were valid, and telling Sam about his history actually was going to mean that Sam didn't want to date him anymore. 

"That's not actually a bad solution," Sam said, sounding contemplative. 

"I- really? I have to say, I wasn't expecting that," Will said, a little bit taken aback. 

"I mean, if you're no longer interested in a poly relationship, then by all means we don't have to. It's just a thought. But that does sound like a good solution," Sam said. "It deals with some of the potential problems of being long-distance. Like, we won't have to worry about it being lonely to date someone who you never get to see. And it takes some of the pressure off, too. But it would mean that we could still be together, and it would probably help us continue the relationship long-term. I know I've never been in a poly relationship before, but I think it could end up being really good."

"No, I- actually, I agree with that. I'm definitely not opposed to the idea, although I'm kind of surprised that you're on board with the idea," Will said, turning the idea over in his head. "You're right, this does seem like a good solution. Although I want to talk about this a lot more to figure out the details of how we'd want this to work."

"I agree," Sam said. "I don't want to do this wrong and have one of us end up getting hurt."

"Let's talk about it this weekend, when I have more time to sit down and talk it out," Will suggested. He also wanted to give Sam time to actually think through the idea in order to make sure that he was actually going to be okay with it. 

"Sounds good," Sam agreed.

"So, how are you doing?" Will asked.

"I'm pretty good," Sam said. "I've got a therapist lined up, so I'm going to start seeing her soon."

"Good," Will said. "I'm glad."

* * *

That weekend, Will and Sam negotiated the terms of their polyamorous relationship. They decided that they could go as far as they wanted with their other partners, both in terms of sex and in terms of forming romantic relationships. They agreed to check in with each other frequently and be honest about how they were feeling about the relationship. They promised that they wouldn't hide the fact that they were in a poly relationship from any other partners- with the exception of one night stands- but that actually coming out to friends and family would come later, if ever. They also decided that if or when they ended up living near to each other, they would definitely not break up with any pre-existing other partners, but they would negotiate about whether they would continue to find new partners then. 

All in all, Will thought that they'd done a good job figuring out the terms of their relationship. He knew that both he and Sam were both trained to be good communicators, which he figured definitely played a part in that. 

Will knew that he couldn't be sure that the relationship would succeed, but no relationship was guaranteed to be a success, whether poly or monogamous. The true test would be time, and Will had high hopes that they would pass the test.


	2. Chapter Two

As Will had expected, he didn't have the chance to even try to date anyone except Sam for months. Working for the President meant insane hours, and he was so tired at the end of most days that going out and meeting someone was the last thing on his mind. Especially since he already had a boyfriend that he was falling in love with. 

Will's relationship with Sam was thriving. Will always looked forward to their nightly phone calls. He thought that their relationship was getting stronger every day, and he knew that Sam felt the way. He didn't have to wonder about that, because Sam and Will had stayed true to their agreement to keep communicating with each other. 

Sam had started talking to his therapist, and it was clear that was helping Sam a lot. Will got used to hearing phrases like "healthy coping strategies" in conversation. He didn't mind at all; on the contrary, Will was glad that Sam was spending enough time thinking about his mental health and how to take care of himself better that he was mentioning it to Will.

Sam hadn't entered into any other serious relationships with anyone else either. A few months after they'd entered into their poly relationship, he'd starting occasionally dating other people casually; these relationships usually didn't last long, though, although several of them had turned into friendships. Sam seemed to be okay with that, since he thought that casual dating might be what he needed at the moment; he was happy to wait until he was at an even more stable mental health level before he started another serious relationship, on top of the one he had with Will.

Will was genuinely happy that Sam was dating other people in addition to making friends. It made him unhappy to think about Sam being alone without him or any of his friends across the country. Moving across the country was a big step, especially since Sam didn't have co-workers to provide an initial social connection until he started to make friends. Sam had decided to stay at home and work on some of his own writing projects for a while; he had enough money saved to make that financially feasible, although Will knew that Sam was starting to get bored and would probably looking for some job reasonably soon. 

When Will became the Vice President's chief of staff, Sam was supportive. Will had honestly been worried that Sam would be offended on the President's behalf; Sam had worked at the White House for so long, that Will was concerned that Sam wouldn't think that he had a good reason for leaving. Especially since the Vice President's reputation wasn't great; nobody had ever considered Bingo Bob a serious political player before he became the Vice President, and everyone knew that he'd just been Vice President because he'd been easily confirmable. But Sam said that he was glad that Will had a new job if he was happy there. He understood Will's reasons for his career change. 

Will had come out to the Vice President before he accepted the job. He didn't want to work for someone who wasn't going to accept the fact that he was out, and he was found it was best to just do it right off the bat. The Vice President had been fine with it. Will actually suspected that the Vice President saw his sexuality as a potential political tool: both as a way to attract queer voters and to seem more liberal without having to actually be more liberal. Will wasn't sure that he liked that, per say; he didn't mind using his own sexuality for political purposes on occasion, but he didn't want to be a tool that was used in order to avoid actually working for much-needed change in the field of gay rights. 

Will hadn't, however, told him about Sam and their relationship. If they'd been a conventional monogamous couple, he probably would have, a fact he was keenly aware of. He brought it up with Sam that evening.

"It's not that it really matters, I suppose, it's just the double standard that gets me. I would have definitely told him if we hadn't been poly," Will said. "Mostly, I'm concerned about the fact that I'm closer to the public eye now. When he runs for President in a few years, the press will know everything. If I wasn't already out, I'd be outed. There's a good chance they'll find out about our relationship, and a good chance that they'll manage to get a picture or a quote from someone who's been with one of us while we've been dating. I don't want the narrative to be about how one of us is having an affair, and I don't want it to be about polyamory, either. We both know that the press will misrepresent our relationship no matter how we explain it."

"So what do you want to do? As far as I can think of, our options are to either stop being poly or to be extremely careful to hide our relationship. Or to be extra careful to hide our other partners, but that's not a particularly reliable option," Sam asked. "I'll do whatever you think is best, since it's your career that's at stake here."

Will thought about it for a moment. Life would be simpler if they were monogamous, he knew. But he wasn't sure if it would be better. Being poly made them happy, and their relationship was better for it. "I agree, I don't see other options. I think that we should hide our relationship. I don't like it; I don't like having secrets. But I think it's better than compromising our relationship for the sake of easiness."

"I agree. Although I wouldn't have been surprised if you wanted to stop being poly. It's not like you're dating anyone else," Sam said.

"No, but it makes me happy to know that you're happy. I'd feel guilty about how busy I am and how far away we live if I didn't know that you were able to turn to other people, too. I like knowing that you're happy," Will said. "Trust me, I very much like that we're poly."

"I'm glad to hear it. That makes a lot of sense, actually," Sam said. 

And so they were extra careful from then on. They'd already hidden their relationship before, but they became extra cautious. Will didn't like the secrecy, but he didn't see a better option.

And the secrecy worked. Nobody suspected that Will was in a relationship with Sam at all. The exception to that, of course, was his family. He'd told them almost a year after he'd started dating Sam. They'd skyped with Sam every Christmas since. His family wished that they could meet Sam in person, but they understood the need for secrecy- not that they liked it. His family was fine with the fact that they were poly, of course; they'd been around for his relationship with Natalie. 

Sam's family didn't know. They were still dealing with the fallout of Sam's father's adultery, and it wouldn't be a good idea to try and explain how different polyamory was from adultery; there was no chance of his parents understanding. Sam's parents had barely even accepted his bisexuality; they still thought it might be a phase, and it was never discussed.

Once Santos was selected as the Democratic candidate; Will's life calmed down. He started thinking about what he wanted from the future. Or rather, he realized that he had no clue what he wanted. He'd spent so long working towards the goal of getting the Vice President elected; now that he was out of the running, Will realized he didn't really have a plan. For that matter, now he was no longer in the center of the campaign, he wasn't sure that a future where Vice President Russell was elected and Will was his chief of staff was even that appealing. 

Before he had too long to think about it, however, Toby's betrayal became public, and he was suddenly thrust into the position of the White House Communications Director. 

Sam was more upset by Toby's betrayal than Will was, and rightfully so. Will saw Toby more often, of course, but they'd never been close. Toby had disliked him ever since he decided to go work for the Vice President- not that they'd been best friends before that. In contrast, Toby was like an older brother to Sam. They'd been very close, and even though that closeness had turned into infrequent e-mails and phone calls, the sentiment was still there. Sam and Will talked about Toby often; Will tried to help Sam sort out his emotions about the issue while Will himself was still processing it. 

Will started to wonder whether they could afford to be less secretive about their relationship. Not that they'd come out or anything, but he wondered if maybe he could invite Sam over to actually meet his family at some point. And he wouldn't mind meeting some of Sam's friends. He'd be happy to meet any of Sam's other partners, but there currently weren't any except for the occasional one night stand. Sam had dated a doctor for a year and a half, but the relationship had eventually fizzled out. None of his other relationships had lasted too long. 

Nowadays, Sam was spending time writing for various organizations he cared about. He'd written a few things for Planned Parenthood that had been particularly popular. He was also writing for fun, although Will wasn't sure what he was working on. Sam didn't like talking about projects he was doing for his own sake, although he'd gladly expound on whatever he was currently writing for an organization. Will didn't mind Sam's quietness on this subject, though; although he hadn't done anything resembling a personal project in ages, he remembered feeling much the same way.


	3. Chapter Three

Will was caught completely off guard when Kate Harper asked him to be her date to the wedding. He said yes, of course; he'd be lying if he said that he'd never thought about her in that context. She was brilliant, and he really enjoyed working with her. 

A few minutes later, of course, the panic set in. As he always did in stressful situations, he called Sam. 

"So, I've just agreed to go to the wedding with Kate," Will said. "I think it's a date."

"That's good!" Sam said. "Right? I know you like her, but you sound kind of panicked."

"I haven't even been on a date in years," Will said. "We've never actually been on a date, and other than our relationship I've only had the occasional one night stand."

"It'll be great. You're brilliant, and you already know her. It will be fine," Sam said. 

"Should I be telling her about us now, or wait until the first date's already over?" Will asked. "I don't want her to have false expectations of monogamy, if this does turn into a relationship, but I also don't want to awkwardly tell her all of this if it's not even a date."

"That is tricky. Maybe tell her before asking her out on a second date," Sam suggested. "I usually tell people upfront, but they aren't my co-workers, so the potential awkwardness is much less. If you do it before the second date, she won't have time to form too many expectations about a relationship, but you'll have already established that you like each other."

"That seems like solid reasoning. I'll do that," Will said. "Thanks."

"My pleasure," Sam said. "It's nice to get to talk to you about your relationships, for once, instead of it always being the other way around. I worry about you being lonely there, sometimes."

"Usually, I'm too busy to be lonely," Will said. "I think that dating a coworker might be the only way that dating someone else would work."

"Then I'm glad you have the chance to do that," Sam said.

Will went to the wedding with Kate, although she had to disappear several times to deal with the situation with China and Russia. Will didn't mind; he didn't blame her at all for doing her job. It only made him like her more. 

And when they were together, they had a fantastic time. Will had noticed Kate before, of course; it would be impossible for him to have not done so. But now that they weren't just working together, he noticed her wittiness and appreciated her insights more than he had before. Plus, she was gorgeous. He didn't want to objectify her, but she really was beautiful. 

They ended the evening with a brief kiss. Will hadn't been sure whether that would be the right move or not, but it felt natural. She seemed to agree with him. He called Sam on the car ride home, and Sam was as excited as he was that he'd had such a good time.

Will and Kate discussed the possibility of a second date the very next day. Their chemistry was too good to not pursue the relationship.

Before they settled on anything, though, there was something they had to discuss.

"So," Will said, turning serious. "Before this goes any farther, I need to tell you something."

"Okay," Kate said, sounding curious. 

"Have you heard of polyamory? People having relationships with multiple people?" Will asked cautiously, hoping that this wouldn't end terribly.

"Yeah," Kate said cautiously. "My- I think she'd be my second cousin, or maybe she's my first cousin once removed- is in a triad."

Will was relieved that Kate had at least some exposure to polyamory. If she'd only heard of it in the context of religious men with multiple wives, the conversation would be a lot harder.

"I'm currently in a polyamorous long-distance relationship with Sam Seaborn. He used to work here a few years ago; you might have heard his name before, although he said he's never met you. We both are allowed to date other people while still being in our relationship, although we both currently don't have any other partners," Will said. "I know this isn't what you expected from me. I'd still like to date you, but I understand if this makes you not want to form a relationship with me."

Kate definitely looked surprised by the news, but she didn't seem repulsed. Instead, she seemed to be actively considering the options.

"Honestly, I've never considered being in a non-monogamous relationship before. But I really like you, and I want to give this a chance," Kate finally decided. "I'm probably going to have questions, though."

"And I will answer them honestly and to the best of my abilities," Will said. He couldn't help but grin. "I'm glad you decided to give me a chance."

"Me, too," Kate replied, smiling back at him.

* * *

"So you're dating her?" Sam concluded. "That's great!"

Will couldn't help but smile at his boyfriend's enthusiasm. "She wants to talk to you, sometime soon."

"Sounds good," Sam agreed. "Give her my phone number, my schedule's a lot more flexible than hers."

During their nightly phone call on Saturday, Sam mentioned that he talked to Kate and that he definitely approved of her. Will couldn't help but feel relieved.

* * *

"So, Kate told me a very interesting story about an envelope today," Sam said during their nightly conversation, three weeks after Will started dating Kate.

"It seemed like the thing to do," Will said, a bit defensively.

Sam laughs at that. Will can't help but join in.

"I'd ask you to explain why you didn't just leave the bra at your place, but Kate was clear on the fact that you didn't think this one through," Sam teased.

"I can see that you two are going to be ganging up on me, from now on," Will joked lightly. 

"It's nice to have someone to talk to you about. Someone who know you," Sam replied more seriously. 

Will had never had the chance to really talk to any of Sam's partners, beyond the initial introduction phone calls. He was busy enough that he barely had time to keep in touch with his family. Talking to one of Sam's partners would have meant spending less time talking to Sam, and that wasn't worth it.

That being said, Will was glad that Sam and Kate seemed to have become friends. Even when they were ganging up on him to tease him about his general awkwardness.


	4. Chapter Four

When Will thought about his plans for the future, he realized that they'd changed. For a couple of years there, while he was working for Russell, he'd thought that maybe he should run for Congress or Senate. Follow the same trajectory that most people he talked to were following.

Now, when Will pictured his future, it mostly involved seeing Sam every day. Will thought that after he was done being the White House Communications Director, he'd like to be done with politics, at least on this level. He'd enjoyed the Wilde campaign, seemingly doomed as it had been. Maybe he'd do something along those lines. The only thing about his future that Will was certain of was that he wanted to settle down with Sam.

He wasn't doing it just for Sam, of course. It would be nice to be back in the California sun, and even nicer to be living near Elsie. But it definitely didn't hurt that he'd be able to see Sam for more than a couple of stolen days every few months.

The one thing that was stopping him from openly announcing his plans to move to California is Kate. They haven't been dating for that long, but he really likes her. He didn't want to have to tell her that he's leaving and deal with what that means for their relationship.

Of course, Kate being Kate, she already knew.

"So, I basically have no idea what I'm going to be doing with my life after the Inauguration," Kate announced. "Since no actual jobs are on the horizon right now. What about you? Do you have any idea what you'll be doing in California?"

Will made some sort of strangled noise.

"Wait, did you think I didn't know that you were planning on moving to California? Of course you are," Kate said. 

"I know you know. I just figured that maybe we weren't talking about it?" Will said awkwardly. 

"Look, ever since our second date, I have been aware with and fine with the reality that after the Inauguration, you're going to move to California. I know that our relationship is either going to become long distance or end. We can discuss exactly which of these options will work better for us, or we can talk about any career prospects you have in California," Kate explained. "Either conversation option is fine by me."

"That's a very reasonable approach to the situation," Will commented. "I'd like to try long distance with you, if you want to."

"I don't know how good I'm going to be at long distance. I've never tried it before. But I think I'd like to try," Kate decided.

"That's good. I'm glad. And as for job prospects in California- I don't know. I've been thinking of going back to working freelance," Will mused. 

Kate smiled at him and Will thought that maybe they'd last.

* * *

A week after the inauguration, Will moved out to California. He and Sam had considered whether it would be better for Will to get a separate apartment and then transition to living together, but they had both been too eager to be able to see each other all day, every day, that they had decided it was worth at least trying to live together from the start.

Living with Sam was wonderful. Even though they'd spent barely any time together in person, they'd spent so much time talking on the phone and skyping that they were already comfortable together. The only difference was that now, the comfort had a physical component. 

Will and Sam agreed that they can continue dating other people if they want, but they knew that neither of them was particularly interested in actively seeking out another partner. Will figured that unless Sam or him met someone particularly amazing, they'd probably continue as they were indefinitely; Sam only dating him, Will dating Sam and Kate. 

Will wondered for a couple of days if it was a problem that Will had a second partner and Sam didn't. Then, Sam joined him on a Skype conversation with Kate and Will realized that that's not the issue. Sam and Kate got along like they've known each other forever. 

The real question, Will realized, was whether Sam and Kate would like to also be dating each other. 

Will considered the idea of Sam and Kate together for a minute and decided he was definitely on board with the idea. He wondered whether he should bring it up with one or both of them, in order to let them know that he's definitely okay with the idea, but he decided that would be a bad idea. Will knew that his natural state was awkwardness, but that didn't mean he couldn't be tactful sometimes.

So, Will waited. When Kate mentioned that she'd decided to write a book on foreign policy instead of accept any of the job offers she'd been given, he agreed with Sam's suggestion that they should invite Kate to stay with them for a bit. 

Kate agreed. Sam and Will went to pick her up at the airport a couple of weeks later. When Will watched Sam and Kate together, he felt even more certain about the fact that they were interested in each other.

* * *

One week later, Kate returned to DC. A few weeks after that, Kate moved to California, to an apartment a fifteen minute drive from Will and Sam. Kate had been clear on the fact that she hadn't decided to move just to be by them; she'd fallen in love with California in general, and she was sick of living in DC when she was no longer working there. Will noticed that that had more or less been Sam's logic when he'd decided to move to California four years ago; he thought that DC probably had that effect on a lot of people. 

A couple of weeks after Kate moved to California, she asked Will if he'd be okay if she asked Sam out. Will couldn't help but grin when he told her, honestly, that the only person who'd be more excited about Kate asking Sam out than Will is Sam himself.

Will's prediction turned out to be true, and he couldn't help but marvel at how lucky the three of them were.


End file.
